Tar monsters
by Brightpath2
Summary: Annabeth had a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair. Percy's shirt was covered in it. "Roofing tar?" Piper guessed. Frank stumbled up behind them, which made the hallway pretty jam-packed with demigods. Frank had a big smear of the black sludge down his face. "Ran into some tar monsters," Annabeth said. an hour and a half earlier . . .


**This is a fanfiction that I was supposed to finish writing FOREVER ago. It is a prize for NCISaddictionMcGeek who was the 700th reviewer for my the House of Hades fanfiction, and I finally finished it this morning! :) :) be happy.**

**I hope you guys like it. It's from the Mark of Athena when Annabeth says they ran into some "tar monsters" ;)**

**Disclaimer: All I own is tar monsters and cab driver. Jeez . . . my life kinda sucks.**

_On the deck above, something went THUMP, as if a heavy creature had landed. Annabeth and Percy came running down the hall. Percy was toting a steaming five-gallon plastic bucket that smelled horrible. Annabeth had a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair._

_Percy's shirt was covered in it._

_"Roofing tar?" Piper guessed._

_Frank stumbled up behind them, which made the hallway pretty jam-packed with demigods. Frank had a big smear of the black sludge down his face._

_"Ran into some tar monsters," Annabeth said._

**. . . **

Percy

Frank was grumbling. Annabeth couldn't hear him, but Percy could, and he was trying hard not to crack up.

"I'm just going to be transport this whole trip . . . no use . . . no way to impress Hazel . . . and _she_ went off with fire boy . . ." and so on. It was funny to Percy, although he understood why Frank was concerned about Leo.

He would be concerned too if his girlfriend's long dead boyfriend was reincarnated and then started taking her places.

Of course, Percy was with Annabeth, which made him happier than Frank to begin with.

They were walking through a maze of buildings. Salt Lake was a city just as confusing as New York, the difference being that Percy knew his way around New York with his eyes closed walking backwards.

Even Annabeth, who'd apparently been to Salt Lake before, looked confused.

"It'll be easy, he says. You'll be back quicker, he says." Percy said jokingly as they faced another dead end. Annabeth shot him a glare that did little to dampen his spirits.

Part of him was still furious that Leo had fired on New Rome, but it was obvious to him now that he'd been too harsh on the guy. His personality just didn't have the cruelty to betray everyone like that.

Percy decided he'd have to apologize another time, because for now they needed to find tar.

They were walking past a huge white building, almost like a castle. It was surrounded by a huge fenced area, and Annabeth paused, her face open and bright as she stared in awe.

Percy sighed, but stopped next to her, waiting for her to explain.

"It's a temple built by a group of people known as Mormons. It took them 40 years to build it although the interior only took one year. It's the most complicated of their temples, and took the longest time." Annabeth said happily. "I researched it after coming here a few years ago with my dad."

Frank was staring at Annabeth in awe, and Percy grinned. That was his Annabeth alright.

They kept moving, despite Annabeth's longing glances back over her shoulder. She obviously wanted a closer look, but they didn't have time.

Finally Frank gave up and just hailed a taxi. It didn't even take five minutes before one pulled over, and the three Demigods got in.

"Where to kids?" The driver said in a cheerful voice, salt and pepper hair the only thing they could see of him.

"Nearest supply store that might have tar, if you know where one is." Annabeth said quickly.

"Of course sweetheart, there's one about five blocks from here. We'll be there in a jiffy." He replied. They pulled away from the curb and the guy kept talking nicely, asking if this was their first time in the city, telling them where some good fast food restaurants were (Percy wanted to go, but Annabeth said not a chance) and over all making the ride a comfortable one.

After maybe twenty minutes of weaving skillfully through traffic, the taxi pulled up in front of a small store that read: Supplies for anything, and for anyone.

As they got out of the car, the driver leaned forward with a serious expression on his face. He had a friendly face, and dark green eyes. "Be careful kids, don't go getting yourselves in trouble now, do you hear?"

Percy nodded, and he could see Frank and Annabeth doing the same.

Too bad they were already in some serious trouble. Fighting the earth goddess and her children the giants . . . yeah it couldn't get much worse than that.

The driver pulled away, and the three Demigods stared after him.

"That guy was great." Percy and Frank said at the same time. Annabeth smiled weakly, and nodded in agreement.

They turned and went into the store.

Immediately Percy had the sense that someone was watching them, but when he looked around, all he saw was endless isles. There was no one in sight.

He turned around. Annabeth and Frank weren't there either.

"Oh gods of Olympus." Percy cursed. Of course it was a trap. It would have been too easy to just conveniently find what they needed, no monsters, no hassle. Just walk in a store, buy what they needed, and then walk right back out. Nope, because life couldn't be easy for any Demigod ever.

Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket and uncapped it, starting to jog carefully down the isle he was in. He was never going to be separated from Annabeth against his will again.

Annabeth

She knew immediately that something was wrong when she couldn't hear the boys next to her.

When she turned around and they were nowhere in sight, with the addition of the door being gone, she knew they were in trouble.

"Percy?" She said as loudly as she dared. There was no reply, and Annabeth shivered. This reminded her too much of the Cyclopes lair she'd been trapped in with Thalia, Grover, and Luke.

What came next only helped with that impression. "Annabeth! Annabeth!" Percy's tortured cry made Annabeth gasp, and run a few steps in that direction before she realized that it was probably an illusion.

She shook her head and drew her dagger, running in the opposite direction, and praying fervently that she hadn't just turned her back on her boyfriend.

As she rounded a corner, she heard something behind her, and turned to face- a wall. Annabeth blinked. The inside of the store was changing, almost like Daedalus' maze.

"Oh gods of Olympus." Annabeth muttered. This was not going to be as much fun as she'd thought. Some time with Percy, maybe getting to know Frank a bit . . .

No, because the gods _hated_ Annabeth. The daughter of Athena walked slowly down a new isle that had appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes widened. At the end of the isle were three big five gallon plastic buckets. From the smell of things, they definitely held tar.

Another cry tore her gaze away, and she couldn't help herself. "Percy! Where are you?" She yelled. If that was really him . . .

Annabeth shook her head. Not only was it an illusion, it wasn't all that good. She'd never heard her boyfriend cry out like that. It didn't have his inflections, and it wasn't the tone of voice he would have used.

It was someone trying to use Percy's voice and not doing a very good job.

Annabeth forced herself to walk towards the tar, ignoring the sounds of voices behind her, even as more and more joined them.

She could hear Malcolm . . . Bobby . . . Matthew, her dad, Luke, Thalia, Percy, Percy . . . Piper, Leo, Percy.

Annabeth closed her eyes and kept walking. There was no way that all of those people were here. She knew for sure that they weren't. Right? Percy and Frank were the only two people in here that she needed to be worried about.

She reached the five gallon buckets and looked down inside. Yep. Definitely tar. The stink alone made it qualify.

Annabeth looked around. There was no one in sight, and even the faint sounds of her friends' voices were fading. She sheathed her dagger and reached out to touch the black gooey substance.

The instant her finger made contact, the tar came alive. Annabeth let out an echoing scream as it rushed towards her, and she fell backwards.

A figure formed, and the tar was suddenly roughly human shaped. "Nasty Demigod, ignoring our voices. We will just have to get it, yes we will." It raised it's fist, and Annabeth launched herself backwards just in time to avoid getting slammed with tar.

"Fast Demigod. We will just have to break it's legs, and it won't be fast anymore, no it won't!" The tar monster chuckled cheerfully, and Annabeth shuddered in disgust as the smell of tar surrounded her even more.

"Percy Jackson if you don't get over her really quick, I am going to judo flip you again." Annabeth muttered under her breath as she stood up, punched the tar monster (trying very hard not to think about it) and ran in the opposite direction.

Frank

Frank was having a bad day. New Rome had been attacked by Leo, or not Leo, whatever the case. He and Hazel were no longer members of the Legion most likely, and now they were on the run.

He was already annoyed that he had been sent along as a ride, and because Hazel was running around with _Leo_, the Sammy look-alike.

And now Percy and Annabeth had disappeared. No this was not Frank's day.

He was wandering down the isles and wondering how they were going to get out of there when all of a sudden Annabeth appeared out of nowhere, looking behind her as she ran. Neither of them were paying enough attention to where they were going to avoid each other, and they collided.

"Annabeth!" Frank gasped, rolling away from her and then standing up and holding out his hand. "Gods I am so sorry. Where's Percy?"

He helped her up as she responded. "No idea. We walked in here and then we were all separated. I'm surprised we even joined up again. Oh, and look out for Tar monsters."

Frank blanched and took a step back, looking around nervously.

"Tar monsters? Seriously?"

"Yep, ran into some back there." Annabeth gestured behind her. "Come on, we better go find Percy before he does something stupid."

Frank smiled weakly, and they continued, moving down the isles.

He strung his bow and nocked an arrow, knowing that if there were monsters in here, he needed to be ready.

A sudden clatter from the isle next to theirs made Annabeth and Frank take off. They didn't even pause to consider if it was a monster or not, because they knew the couldn't really take that chance.

As Frank ran, he really hoped that Hazel was having more luck. He also hoped that the Sammy look-a-like didn't try anything, because seriously, he'd finally made it official with Hazel.

Frank's eyes drifted to the blonde Demigod running in front of him. The only things he knew about her were things Percy had told him, and everything was very sketchy, because Percy hadn't even had his memory then.

He knew she was smart, he knew she had once gotten "lost" and Percy found her. He knew that she liked reading, he knew that she teased Percy a lot, he knew she was a good leader, and that was about the extent of his knowledge.

"So, how long exactly have you known Percy?" Frank asked uncertainly, unsure if she would answer his question while running or not.

Annabeth smiled, and her entire face softened. "Since we were both twelve. That was when he came to Camp. We went on a quest with Grover to find Zeus's lightning bolt. It was my first quest, and his, and it ended up being the start of our friendship."

Frank smiled, imagining what Percy must have been like when he was younger. "Did you always get along, and know that the two of you were going to get together?" He asked, thinking of him and Hazel. He'd liked her since she'd spoken to him when he first joined the Twelfth Legion.

"No. At first I thought he was annoying, and he was always causing problems. Even when I started liking him, he was always doing something stupid, and getting hurt, and he was so clueless. It took him forever to realize that what I wanted was for him to know how I felt." Annabeth's voice was almost angry, as though she was remembering something in particular.

Suddenly there was a thundering crash, and a monstrous Tar figure appeared out of nowhere, turning to face them. "There they are. Nasty Demigods. We will tear them apart, yes we will." Frank felt chills run up and down his spine at the sound of the voice, and he backed away slowly.

He and Annabeth exchanged glances, nodded, and then charged, ready to take on a whole lot of tar.

Percy

This was getting aggravating. He was sure he'd passed that same bucket five times, and yet even when he took different turns, he ended up in front of it again and again.

Finally Percy cursed and walked over to it. Maybe some immortal thing was sending him a message that screamed "Look in the bucket!"

He looked inside, and his eyes widened. It was the roofing tar that they needed. It was the perfect amount too. Percy sighed, capping Riptide, and lifted it, relieved to find that it wasn't horribly heavy. Now as long as he could find Frank and Annabeth, they could get out of there with no more fuss.

Suddenly a roar echoed throughout the shop, followed by a scream. Annabeth's scream.

Ignoring the extra weight that the tar had added, Percy ran towards the sound, staying away from turns that led in any other direction. He knew where he was going now, and he wasn't going to let anything distract him.

He slowed as he neared the sound of battle, and peeked around a corner to look upon one of the weirdest things he'd ever seen. Annabeth was pinned against a stack of boxes by the same sticky black substance that was in his bucket.

Frank was a blur, dodging the giant black sludge monster with barely even a pause to give Percy a clue to what animal he was.

Percy sighed, put his bucket of tar down, and drew Riptide, pausing as the monster that was fighting Frank hesitated.

Percy didn't move, and the monster went back to fighting Frank. Annabeth was struggling to get out of the grip the tar had on her, and there was a streak of black gunk in her hair that Percy knew she and Piper would have some . . . _fun_ with later.

Frank was tossed backwards, and he hit a stack of boxes, knocking it over. The tar monster laughed, and Percy felt shivers go down his spine.

"There. We have the Demigods down, and now we can crush them, oh yes, we can crush them, and burn them, and _kill_ them." Percy shuddered at the sound of the voices. There was definitely more than one, and they echoed throughout the whole shop, as though they were surrounded everyone and everything.

"You will never get away with killing us." Annabeth spoke up, and her voice sounded strained, but serious. "You know there is another Demigod in here, and there is no way he would leave us to die."

The tar monster sighed. "That one is wanted by the patron." They said, and Percy thought they sounded annoyed.

Annabeth laughed, and Percy couldn't help but agree. Why would Gaea want him? He was more likely to try and kill her than to help her, and she knew it.

"You don't know Percy. If I know him, he's looking for us right now, and when he finds us, you are going to pay." Annabeth said quietly.

Percy loved her so much. She was so beautiful when she was angry.

The tar creature laughed. "The Demigod would not dare to fight me when I have you trapped. His fatal flaw . . . we were told his fatal flaw."

Percy shuddered. His fatal flaw was loyalty, and almost every god and monster he met seemed to think it would be the end of him.

But not right now. Cold determination flooded through him, and he darted from one pile of boxes to the next, hearing the Tar monster as it kept talking to Annabeth, and her sharp, angry replies.

She was distracting the monster! Percy would have laughed, but he was too busy trying _not_ to get caught.

Soon he was right behind the monster, and could see that Annabeth was only pinned by her arms. Frank was stirring in the pile of boxes he'd been knocked into, but they didn't have time to wait for Frank to get up.

Percy leapt forward, Riptide glowing brightly, and stabbed the Tar monster all the way through it's . . . blobby, probably chest area, thing.

For a moment, he was sure he'd one, but then he realized he was stuck. To his alarm, he was melting _into the Tar monster and he couldn't get out!_

Percy struggled, but now he couldn't even let go of Riptide. He heard Annabeth scream, and Frank's surprised voice yell, and then he was enveloped in dark tar. Dark, suffocating tar.

And he couldn't breathe.

Annabeth

Percy had just been swallowed by a blob of tar.

As weird as that sounded, Annabeth was horrified. For a few minutes, she had thought they might have one, but the tar thing had pulled him in. He couldn't have gotten free if he wanted to.

And there was no way he could breathe in that thing.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed, feeling an overwhelming fear take hold of her. She'd just gotten him back, she couldn't lose him again.

But the Tar monster seemed to be confused. Suddenly it's grip on Annabeth's wrists weakened, and she squirmed her way out. She and Frank exchanged confused glances, and the Tar monster let out a groan.

Annabeth couldn't help but notice that Frank looked tired, but determined, as though he would keep on fighting.

No wonder Hazel liked him.

Suddenly the tar monster exploded, and Annabeth covered her face with her arms. She felt something hit her hair, and she ducked as something else flew by her face.

When she looked up, Frank looked shocked, and there was a streak of black sludge down his face. The tar monster was gone, scattered around the shop, dripping all over.

And there was Percy, on the floor, his shirt covered in tar, and coughing violently.

"Percy!" Annabeth shrieked, flinging herself forward. She began to help him stand up, and he staggered.

Thankfully he seemed to be recovering quickly.

"And we still need to get Leo's tar." Frank said, and Annabeth laughed. He sounded so annoyed.

"No we don't," Percy said, his voice hoarse. "It's right around the corner in a plastic bucket. We can get the bucket and leave."

Percy

Ten minutes later they were flying through the air, safely on their way back to the Argo II. Percy could feel Annabeth next to him, gripping his hand like it was the most important thing in the world.

Frank's wings were flapping frantically, as though he couldn't wait to get back to the ship, and honestly, Percy didn't blame him.

He was pretty done with Tar. He hoped it was worth it, because he never ever wanted to go shopping for Leo again.

He had hated not being able to breathe. He wasn't used to the idea of being suffocated, and water held no threat to him. But in the tar, unable to breathe . . . Percy shuddered, pushing the thought of Ella's prophecy from his quest with Frank and Hazel to the back of his mind.

At least they were safe now, and he was with Annabeth. Granted he was also covered in tar, and he wanted to change his shirt, but they were safe.

The lights of Salt Lake city were fading behind them, and Percy could see the Argo II. Frank shot downwards, and Percy gripped slightly tighter, wincing as they swooped down for the landing.

Frank hit the deck with a thump, and Percy slid off of him, holding the bucket of Tar. He and Annabeth jogged down to the main area, and then stopped near the open door, where Hazel was standing right inside, and Piper was sitting next to Jason's bed.

Piper took one look at them and then said. "Roofing tar?"

Percy smiled as Frank ran up behind him. He supposed they looked a little . . . disgusting.

"Ran into some tar monsters." Annabeth admitted. "Hey, Jason, glad you're awake. Hazel, where's Leo?"

Hazel smiled at Percy before pointing down. "Engine room."

Suddenly the entire ship listed to port. The Demigods stumbled. Percy almost spilled his bucket of tar.

"Uh, what was that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Hazel.

"Oh . . ." Hazel looked embarrassed. "We may have angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like . . . all of them."

"Great." Percy handed the bucket of tar to Frank and Annabeth. "You guys help Leo. I'll hold off the water spirits as long as I can."

"On it!" Frank promised.

As Percy ran down the hall towards the deck, he was glad that the situation with the Tar monsters was over.

Now to get to Epirus and rescue Nico.

**bwahahaahahaha!**

**That last part, most of it, is from the book. :) yeah.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I hope you liked it NCISaddictionMcGeek!**


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